Accountant (Back Office)

Org. Setting and Reporting

The United Nations Secretary-General is responsible for the investment of the assets of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF). The Secretary-General has delegated this responsibility to the Representative of the Secretary-General for the investment of the assets of the UNJSPF (RSG). The RSG is, in turn, assisted in this function by the Office of Investment Management (OIM). OIM manages a $95 billion multi-asset class, global investment portfolio, about 85% of which is actively managed in-house. Asset classes under management comprise global equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, derivatives, private equity, real estate, infrastructure, timber and commodities. OIM's staff are all based in New York but come from over 40 countries. For more information, please visit OIM's website at https : / / oim.unjspf.org / . The incumbent will work under the direct supervision of the Accountant, and general guidance of the Chief, Operations Section.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Accountant (Investment Operations Specialist - Back Office) will be responsible for the following duties :

• Supervises multi-currency trade settlement activities to avoid trade fails.
• Ensures accurate and timely submission of daily cash activity and projection reports to the Fixed Income team to avoid overdrafts.
• Analyzes accounts and reviews / evaluates unresolved issues until all are resolved.
• Identifies problem transactions, irregularities and recurring problems.
• Partner with interval stakeholders and external vendors, custodian and managers on special projects
• Provides guidance and assistance with the resolution of more complex operational and accounting issues / exceptions.
• Coordinates the claims process establishing procedures and timelines to be followed and approves compensation claims.
• Supervises data maintenance in critical back-office systems, e.g., standard settlement instructions, account data, market calendar, etc. and ensures data integrity.
• Approves / Confirms that standard settlement instructions and SWIFT message formats are in accordance with the market standards, brokers' and or global custodians' requirements.
• Ensures that accurate and complete back-office investment operations, cash management, and internal control systems are functioning and that all relevant records are maintained.
• Provides advice and guidance concerning the operating procedures for the back-office investment operations and cash management systems and updates relevant procedures manuals.
• Provides authoritative interpretation of requirements for handling investment transactions.
• Coordinates and supervises the daily reconciliation of the investments of the Fund. Monitors, analyzes, reviews and approves SWIFT messages, modifications / amendments and other investment transactions in the back-office system.
• Keeps abreast and provides guidance on new developments in the industry, especially for back-office investment operations and cash management systems.
• Keeps abreast and provides guidance on changes in market requirements, e.g. trade settlement cycles, opening and closing of markets, exchanges, central depositories, transaction taxes and fees, etc. that would require reconfigurations to the back-office and cash management systems and changes in procedures.
• Defines business user requirements and works with Information Systems Section with respect to back-office investment operations and cash management systems.
• Monitors and evaluates the performance of global custodian and Service providers ensuring that they meet their contractual obligations.
• Participates in the development of strategic framework and annual budget requests for the Unit.
• Provides information needed to respond to audit findings and contributes to the responses.
• Supervises a subset of back-office staff and provides guidance and feedback to them.
• Provides back-up and support to the Chief of Operations Section in administrative areas of the Unit.

Competencies

Education

Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in business administration, finance, accounting or related field. A first-level university degree and an additional 2 years of qualifying experience over the required minimum work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. CPA or CFA designation is desirable.

Job - Specific Qualification

Not available.

Work Experience

A minimum of five years of progressively responsible professional experience in investment operations is required. Experience in SWIFT or a similar secure payments system is required. Experience with derivatives products and knowledge of collateral management is required. At least two years of experience working with Bloomberg AIM or a similar order management system is required.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another UN official language is desirable.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

United Nations Considerations

According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term "sexual exploitation" means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term "sexual abuse" means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term "sexual harassment" means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator's working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST / AI / 2023 / 3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions. Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on "Manuals" in the "Help" tile of the inspira account-holder homepage. The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application. Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11 : 59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS' BANK ACCOUNTS.